About the Author

Taylor Hokanson is a DIY engineer, CAD/CAM evangelist, and assistant professor at Columbia College Chicago.

Like the digital media at the center of his research, Hokanson's practice blurs the boundaries between conceptual art and the hard sciences. As a DIY engineer, he frequently works with hacked electronics, changing the function of common consumer gadgets so that they become alien and unfamiliar. His sledgehammer-operated keyboard is a popular example. In changing the scale, material, and interface of a common device, Hokanson asks the user to reconsider a communicative medium devalued by ease of use.